Gun



V. H. CZEGKA.

GUN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. 1920.

1 ,%1 3,903., Patent-ed Apr. 25, 1922.

narrate stares! r VICTOR H. CZEGKL OF'WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES ORDNANCE COMPANY, OF WASHINGTQN, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A COR- PORATION. OF VIRGINIA.

GUN.

Application filed may 21,

To all whom it may come m:

Be it known that I, VIc'rou H. CznGKA, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Guns, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to guns, and has for its object to provide means for steadying the gun duringfiring operations, preventing the overheating of the barrel and diminishing the blast and flame of discharge. With this object in view, the invention consists of a heavy mass of metal revolublearound an axis and actuated by the gases of discharge, said mass of metal being so connected with some part of'the gun that its gyrostatic action will oppose any tendency of the gun to depart from its firing position due to recoil, and to restore it to firing position should there be any such departure.

Furthermore, the invention consists of a gun barrel surrounded by a casing suitably spaced therefrom, and a suction fan located 1 within or adjacent to the mouth of said casing and actuated by the gases of discharge, whereby a constant current of air is drawn through the casing and acts to cool the gun barrel.

- In addition to the above, the invention consists in an attachment to the muzzle of the gun of a device actuated by the gases of discharge and acting in the nature of a gyrostat, the gases of discharge being compelled to perform a material amount of work whereby the energy is decreased before they issue into the open air, as the result of which the blast, so-called, is greatly decreased and the flame of discharge, which would otherwise be plainly visible at night, so decreased as to render it practically negligible.

The inventive idea is capable of embodiment in a variety of mechanical structures, one of which, for the. purpose of illustrating the invention, is shown in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that such drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not designed to define the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In said drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the same in section;

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

1920. Serial- No. 388,206. r

the invention, showing the muzzle of a machine-gun with the an casing surrounding 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1;

I 1g. 3 1s.a vertical central longitudinal sect on on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; F g. 41s a perspective view of the turbine blades and parts connected therewith by means of which the parts are revolved through the action of the gases of discharge. Referring to the drawings in which, throughout the several views, like reference numerals refer to like parts, 1 is the muzzle of'a machine-gun such as the well known Lewis machine-gun, 2 is the casing surroundlng the barrel and suitably spaced therefrom, and 3, 3 are the radiating vanes used for dissipating the heat from the barrel. 4 is a tubular projection secured to the muzzle end of the barrel 1 in any suitable manner, by screw-threads 5, and having on the rear portion thereof annular shoulder 6." Mounted on the part 4, in'front of the shoulder 6 and with its rear end projectmg against said shoulder, is an annular raceway 7, suitable insulating material, as asbestos 8, being interposed between the part 4 and the raceway 7. Said raceway is secured firmly and fixedly in position by means of a nut 9 screwed onto the forward end of the part at and engaging an inner annular shoulder 10 on the raceway. Surrounding the raceway is a heavy annular mass of metal 11 having internal raceways 12, 12 corresponding to the raceways 7, said heavy mass of metal 11 thus turning on ball bearings 13 as will be readily understood from an inspection of Fig. 3. Screwthreaded into the forward part of the heavy mass of metal 11 is a disk 14 having a forwardly flaring or bell-shaped casing 15 projecting therefrom. The disk 1-1 has an interior annular thread 16 concentric wit-h the axis of the barrel and into this is screwed a ring 17 to which is secured any suitable number of turbine blades 18. Three of such blades are here shown, but it will be manifest that any suitable number of blades may be employed. (arried by the forward ends of the blades 18 is a tube 19, which tube is coaxial with the gun barrel'and the extension 4 thereof, the opening in said tube 19 slightly taperin from its rear end towards its front en This tubular portion 19 is preferably flattened at its sides, as shown at 20, to afford means for engagement by. a wrench, to the end that the part 17 may be screw-threaded into the interior threads 16 of the disk 14, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The blades 18 may be secured to the parts 17 and 19 in any suitable manner, but preferably all of said parts, to.wit, the tubular member 17, the turbine blades 18, and the tubular member 19, are formed integral and milled out of a single piece of solid metal.

By suitably'spacing the tubular portion 1!) forward of the tubular portion 17, the gases of discharge, as they issue from the latter member, are permitted to expand radially and come into actuating contact with the turbine blades 18, the spaces between the blades affording free access of the gases of discharge to said blades. While this construction is preferred. it will be recognized that the parts 17 and 19 might, if desired, form one continuous tubular portion, with suitable lateral ports formed therein between the blades, without in any way affecting the function of the device.

llounted upon the heavy annular mass of metal 11 are fan blades 21, 21, here shown as two in number, and the whole being located within the forward end of the casing 2. It will be observed that, when the mass 11 is revolved by the turbine blades 18, the fan blades 21 will set up a suction which will draw air through the casing 2, thus conveying heat away from the gun barrel 1.

It will be observed that the heavy mass of metal 11. the disk 14, tubular portions 17 and 19. and the turbine blades 18 are all so secured together as to rotate as one piece, turning freely on the bearing balls 13. This mass of metal 11, revolving around the muzzle end of the barrel 1, or the extension 4 thereof, acts as a gyrostat and a fly-wheel. The result of this is two-fold; first, the gyrostatic action of the mass of metal around the axis of the gun barrel tends to oppose any tendency of the muzzle of the barrel to depart from its firing position, and hence tends to hold the gun upon the target: and, secondly. the fly-wheel action of this mass of metal tends to impart. and does impart, a steady continuous rotary motion thereto, notwithstanding the fact that the propelling force of the gases of discharge impinges upon the blades of the turbine in intermit-- tent jets. so that the fan blades 21 set up a steady continuous current of air through the casin 2.

\Vhen the projectile passes from the tubular part 17 and enters the tubular part 19, the escape of the gases through the part 19 is momentarily prevented and said gases are deflected first laterally against the turbine blades 18 and then forwardly and out through the mouth of the casing 15. During their said travel, the work that they perform in actuating the turbine reducestheir energy so that, when they finally issue into the open atmosphere, the blast due thereto is very decidedly reduced, as is also the flame of discharge. This latter is an extremely important item, since the flame of discharge affords means for locating a concealed machine-gun at night and, by the reduction of this flame of discharge, the successful concealment of the gun is rendered easy. The conical form of the interior of the tubular portion- 19 is designed to, first, insure the uninterrupted entrance thereinto of the projectile, and once in, and as it approaches the forward end of said tubular portion, to facilitate the effectual closure of the "same to the passage of the gases of discharge, unless it be in a very small amount.

While, as herein shown, the gyrostatic action of the mass of metal 11 is applied to the steadying of the muzzle of the gun barrel against the tendency of the shock of discharge to displace it, it will be apparent to anyone skilled in the art that such gyrostatic action may be secured even though the gyrostatic mass of metal were located at some other convenient position and designed for some, other particular use, the broad inventive idea herein disclosed residing in the application of a gyrostat actuated by the gases of discharge to any suitable part of the gun for steadying the same during discharge.

Having thus described my invention, what l desire to claim as new is 1. An attachment for guns comprising a rotatable tubular member having means for attaching same to the muzzle end of the gun barrel coaxial with the latter and with a portion extending in advance of the barrel, air suction blades carried exteriorly by the member, and a turbine carried interiorly by said member in advance of the barrel and acted upon by the gas of discharge to rotate the member.

2. In a gun structure, the combination of a barrel. a jacket surrounding the barrel, a rotatable tubular member coaxial with the barrel and with a portion extending in advance of the latter, air suction blades carried exteriorly by the member operating to draw air through the jacket when said member is rotated, and a turbine carried interiorly by said member in advance of the barrel and acted upon by the gas of dis charge to rotate the member.

3. In a gun structure, the combination of a barrel. a tubular member rotatably asso- I from and entirely in advance of the forward end of barrel in axial alinement therewith, said tubular element acting to deflect gas of discharge outwardly against and along said vanes. r I

4. In a gun structure, the combination of a barrel, a jacket surrounding the barrel, a tubular member rotatably associated with the barrel in coaxial disposition with respect thereto and having a portion extending in advance of the barrel, air suction blades carried exteriorly by the member operating to draw air through the jacket when said member is rotated, and vanes carried interiorly by the member in advance of the barrel against which the gas of discharge reacts to rotate the member.

5. In a gun structure, the combination of a barrel, a jacket surrounding the barrel, a tubular member rotatably associated with the barrel in coaxial disposition with respect thereto and having a portion extending in advance of the barrel, air suction blades carried exteriorly by the member operating to draw air through the jacket when said member is rotated, vanes carried interiorly by the member in advance of the barrel, and a tubular element spaced from the forward end of the barrel in axial alinement therewith, said tubular element acting to deflect gas of discharge outwardly against and along said vanes to rotate the member.

6. In a gun structure, the combination of a barrel, a jacket surrounding the barrel, a tubular member rotatably associated with the barrel in coaxial disposition with respect thereto, air suction blades carried exteriorlyby the member operating to draw air through the jacket when said member is rotated, vanes fixed relatively to the member and disposed in advance of the barrel, and a tubular element spaced from the forward end of the barrel in axial alinement therewith, said tubular element being carried by the forward ends of the vanes and acting to deflect gas of discharge outwardly against and along said vanes to rotate the member.

'7. An attachment-for guns comprising a barrel extension adapted to be secured to the muzzle end of a barrel, a member rotatably mounted on said barrel extension, a tubular element spaced from the forward end of the barrel extension in axial alinement with said extension and fixed relative to the member, vanes fixed relative to said member and positioned between said barrel extension and tubular element, and fan blades mounted exteriorly on the member.

8. An attachment for guns, comprising a barrel extension adapted to be secured to the muzzle end of a barrel, a member rotatably mounted on said barrel extension, a tubular element fixed to the member and axially alined with the barrel extension, forwardly extending vanes fixed to said tubular element, a second tubular element fixed to the vanes in axial alinement with and spaced from the first tubular element, and fan blades mounted exteriorly on the member.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification.

VICTOR H. OZEGKA. 

